Inspirada by KB Homes Photo Shoot
I was recently called upon by one the many local Las Vegas area home development companies to provide a trained dog for a promotional photo shoot that KB Homes was doing to advertise their new Henderson Development Inspirada.
They were doing a night time shoot situated in one of their beautiful model homes located in the desirable south valley area. Situated about 5 minutes from I-15 and St. Rose Parkway in Henderson, NV. Call time was set for 6:30pm and as I arrived I navigated my way through the up and coming development to locate the sales center. It was kind of amazing driving in on the entrance road which was a very blank and uninspiring desert road that seemed to be looping towards the Anthem Hills area of Henderson, a well known and enstablished community in our area. Rounding a bend in the road brought into view a cluster of houses and parks all lit and beginning to silhouette against the near full moon rising in the east.
I quickly found the sales center and met our contact for the shoot. We moved on to the model home we were shooting. I parked my van in back of the construction area in a dirt lot that had yet to be built upon and let my Malinois ‘Trell’ out to stretch her legs and burn off some steam. One of the crew members informed me that we were shooting in the courtyard of an adjacent house and to head over when ready.
We entered the courtyard from a wrought iron gate and came upon the set. It was as you would expect any of the thousands of high-scale Las Vegas area homes. A walled in courtyard comprises the backyard for a two-storey stucco home. This model happened to have a rather relaxing balcony perched above the courtyard looking down on it. The scene that had been set was that of a dinner party in full swing with five people chatting and laughing around a mosaic tiled table adorned with chardonnay and hors d’oeuvres and a blazing fire in a cut stone facade fireplace. Trell’s part was to be the token dog of the scene.
Our job was relatively simple, unlike some past shoots I’ve done (up to this point all have been commercial/video shoots) this task didn’t require any difficult movements or such, just that the dog pose where she was needed and look part of the group. Now considering we’re dealing with a malinois, which are known for their ethusiasm but also energy this would seem a task for some, but thankfully Trell is particularly good are relaxing as needed. To be honest she can be a bit of a couch potato sometimes.
The photographers re-arranged the set several times and we ended up shooting for the full hour and a half we were booked for.
This was a unique experience for me as I had never been on a photo set before and it was surprising how natural it all worked. The models were really just sitting around chatting, telling stories to each other to bring out realistic emotions and responses. It really felt as though it was just a dinner party with a few extra people behind the scenes.
Trell was of course the center of attention for the crew and cast. Her favourite part was when we wrapped up and the cast was sitting around enjoying the spread of food and drink and they thought it fair that she join in. Everyone there was taken by her abilities and enthusiasm and naturally her sweet as pie personality. She’s a real charmer.
It was a great experience for both us and the crew. The crew was impressed at how quickly and easily we were able to wrangle our dog into position and improvise various moves. Even though the demands were low for this particular shoot, I took the opportunity during re-sets to show off some of Trell’s other skills. They were blown away at the versatility of her training and also how reliable she was. Obviously when time is money it helps when you’re working with models that are efficient at following instructions.
October 16th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
I am so psyched to get out there!